Beautiful
by bcbdrums
Summary: He had always known he wasn't much to look at. His big ears, big chin, and small hooked nose were all easy targets for playground bullies. The teasing that started in primary school continued all through college and only expanded when the locker room gave his peers more ammunition. At least then he'd still looked virile below the belt. But now he was unattractive from head to toe.


_A/N: Wrote this fic over a week ago and forgot about it. If you follow me on Tumblr, you've already read it. This is rated mature for nudity and sexual implications, but it's not crude.  
_

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Drakken hummed happily to himself as he stepped out of the shower and dried off. His heart was still dancing from what had happened the night before. He was about to burst into a rendition of "The Power of Love" when he remembered the other person sleeping in his bed in the next room. He blushed wondering if she had heard the other power ballads he had belted out in the shower.

He towel-dried his hair and smiled smugly at himself in the mirror, and was about to hang the dampened cloth when he caught sight of the bags under his eyes. Dropping the towel on the counter, he leaned forward to examine his face more closely in the mirror.

He was plagued with deep, dark circles that seemed to be gaining more wrinkles every day. He turned his head and looked at the worn and wrinkled skin under his neck and behind his ears, and his smile faded. His wet hair plastered to his head only made the imperfections stand out more.

He reached up into his hair in what had recently become a daily routine and ran his fingers through until he found a gray hair. He meticulously plucked out each one that he found and lay them in a row next to the sink. He wondered, as he did each day, if he would look younger with short hair. Maybe it was time to let go of the favored look of his youth.

Maybe he should ask her…

He stepped back from the mirror and studied his naked body—not in the way he usually did with a small glance of pride before dressing—but as the middle-aged man approaching 'senior discount' status that he was.

He knew he was strong, but it only sort-of showed in his shoulders. The rest of him was covered in a layer of flab that varied in thickness depending on the area. His arms were average, he decided, for a man of his age. His chest though…was starting to sag. He felt a lump in his throat as he looked at the small, scraggly hairs and wrinkles that emphasized the point.

His gaze traveled down to the very distinctive paunch of his belly, again spotted with scraggly hairs starting just above his bellybutton and going down. He had never had an attractive waistline, but at least he had kept the weight off when he was younger. Now he just looked…pudgy, even though he knew he had strong abs underneath.

He turned to examine his girth from the side, and then let his eyes fall to his thighs and his rear end. On both again were the little dark hairs that had previously gone ignored and now made him cringe. And of course, the extra weight. His mind quickly ran through his weekly diet and started throwing things out that weren't necessary.

He faced forward again and let his gaze settle on his nether region. He grimaced at the sad sight there. It wasn't that he couldn't do the job—the previous night and the woman still in his bed were all the proof he needed of that—it was just that he wished he were more...attractive. He decided the evidence of his age showed most in that area, with the wrinkles creasing the skin below his bellybutton, the thinning dark hairs peppered with a few grays, and the...the sagging. He cringed. No, there was nothing youthful in appearance below his belt at all.

He had always known he wasn't much to look at. His big ears, big chin, and small hooked nose were all easy targets for playground bullies. The teasing that started in elementary school continued all the way through college, and only expanded when the locker room gave his peers more ammunition. At least back then he'd still looked virile below the belt. But now he was unattractive from head to toe.

He stepped back to take in the whole picture and sighed at himself in the mirror. What was a woman nearly half his age with the most perfect body he'd ever seen doing with him?

At that moment, the bathroom door opened a crack and he scrambled to get his towel around his waist. He looked toward the door and saw her amused smirk as she opened it wide and stepped inside. She was wearing just his robe, tied loosely at her waist. It was much too large on her and looked as though it would fall from her shoulders at any moment.

"It got so quiet in here, I was wondering if something was wrong," she said.

He was blushing crimson and grimacing at the floor, still embarrassed by his appearance.

"Oh, you...you could hear me?"

She stepped up behind him and rested her head on his shoulder and looked at him through the mirror.

"You sound better in here than you do at karaoke."

His brow furrowed in hurt.

She chuckled and wrapped her arms around his middle. "I mean...I think you're trying too hard. Just be yourself, like you are in here."

"O-oh..." he answered. He registered the idea, but he was focused on her fingers gripping the extra padding at his middle. How on earth could she be attracted to him, the way he was?

"Soooo..." she drew the word out, her fingers kneading his hips now. "You wanna help me...get cleaned up?"

Her hands slid slower towards the edge of his towel. He let out a yelp and whirled around to face her, his hands holding tight to the protective covering.

She stepped back in surprise, her eyes scanning him in genuine confusion.

"What?"

His jaw dropped as he realized he had no excuse. Not after the night they had just had. He could say that she'd tickled him... But that wasn't a reason not to join her. He'd still have to drop the towel.

"I...um..." He blinked quickly, his eyes darting around the room for anything. But there was only the truth. "It's just... I think you'll prefer to... You'll like the look of me better...in the dark."

"What?" Her brow furrowed.

"I mean, I... I'm not much to look at, and... And I just think...it's best if you don't... I mean, you don't really have to look at me in bed. Um..."

Her eyes were narrowed in a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"What are you talking about?"

"I..."

He frowned, frustrated with himself, and hitching the towel higher on his waist he strode purposefully toward the door. He had his hand on the doorknob when her small hands curling around his bicep stopped him, and when he turned back she was frowning at him.

"Doc...what are you saying?"

He sighed and looked down. "I know I'm not attractive. I don't want to... I don't want you to have to look at me, like this. It might...put you off."

The annoyance in her eyes began to fade into amusement.

"Dr. D... Do you really think I'd have spent last night in your bed if I wasn't attracted to you?"

He bit his lip and looked up at her with a shy, nervous frown.

"But I'm... I'm not..."

"You're mine," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. He leaned back against the counter and she pressed up against him. "Besides, your looks are only one of the reasons I love you."

She kissed him, but his eyes had flown open in shock at her words. He pushed her back to look at her and make sure he had heard right.

"Did you... You did...just say 'love'...didn't you?"

Her cheeks colored and she looked the slightest bit shy as she glanced away for a moment and then leaned into him again, looking back into his eyes.

"Yes."

He felt his heart leap. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a kiss. He felt her fingers slide through his damp hair and her nails scrape gently against his scalp as his lips fiercely attacked hers. He forgot everything else but the joy in his heart and the feel of the woman perfectly fit into his arms, until she slowly pulled away from him.

"Don't...leave me hanging, Doc," she said. Her voice was a bit shaky, and her smile shy.

He lifted one hand to gently cup her cheek as he smiled at her with everything in his heart. "Shego... I love you."

Her shy, girlish laugh of a reply thrilled him as she hid her face against his. He tilted his head and nuzzled her into another deep kiss with a hum of satisfaction.

He never even noticed that his towel had fallen.


End file.
